Daughter sees mother slain in 'senselessly violent' shooting

Joliet police are seeking any information from the public about the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old mother early this morning on the city's east side.

Nichole A. Rodriguez of the 500 block of South Ottawa Street was gunned down in front of her 8-year-old daughter at 12:17 a.m. while sitting in a parked car in a driveway on the 500 block of East Benton Street, Joliet Police Chief Fred Hayes said today.

Police responding to calls of "shots fired" in the area found Rodriguez slumped over and unresponsive in the front passenger seat.

Witnesses told police two men walked up to the passenger side and fired into the car, hitting Rodriguez, Hayes said. She was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, where she was pronounced dead. Her daughter, who was in the back seat, and her 20-year-old sister-in-law, who was in the driver's seat, were not hit, Hayes said.

Investigators recovered nine spent shell casings on the passenger side of the car, Hayes said.

"It is very troubling for an 8-year-old girl to witness her mother being gunned down," Hayes said, terming the shooting "tragic and senselessly violent."

Hayes said police aren't sure Rodriguez was the intended target. None of the family members appeared to be involved with gangs, he said.

Police are reviewing security tape footage from a liquor store on the corner of Collins Street and Ward Avenue where two 17-year-olds with the women were in an altercation with two men earlier Monday night. But Hayes downplayed the videotape's significance, saying police have not made a connection between the altercation and the slaying, which were separated by nearly a mile. The 17-year-olds were not present during the shooting, Hayes said.

Hayes also said there is gang-related activity in the area where Rodriguez was slain. "We have had shootings in that neighborhood," hesaid.

Hayes asked anyone with information about the shooting or the prior altercation to contact the Joliet Police Department's Investigation Division at 815-724-3020. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers of Will County at 800-323-6734.